3I/ATLAS: A New Interstellar Object Visiting Our Solar System | ESO

3I/ATLAS: A New Interstellar Object Visiting Our Solar System | ESO

The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has obtained new images of 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object discovered last week. Identified as a comet, 3I/ATLAS is only the third visitor from outside the Solar System ever found, after 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov. Its highly eccentric hyperbolic orbit, unlike that of objects in the Solar System, gave away its interstellar origin. 

This VLT image is the result of stacking several observations obtained on the night of July 3, 2025. When combining the different frames, the background stars were removed, showing only a deep image of the interstellar comet. The data were obtained with the FORS2 instrument, and are available in the ESO archive. 

Image Description: An image of a white smudge against a black background. The smudge has a short faint tail extending to the right.

When discovered it was about 410 million miles (670 million kilometers) away from the Sun, within the orbit of Jupiter. Projected to pass near Mars and Jupiter, 3I/ATLAS is not expected to pass close to the Earth. The origin of Comet 3I/ATLAS remains unknown. Since this is the third interstellar object ever discovered, its name begins with the number 3 and the letter I. Comet 3I/ATLAS poses no known threat to Earth. Meanwhile, it provides a fascinating and rare opportunity for scientists to study these interstellar interlopers.

Credit: ESO/O. Hainaut
Release Date: July 8, 2025

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